Glare shield



July 3, 1928.

F. C. KUEPPERS GLARESHIELD Filed Jan. 27, 1928 Patented July 3, 1928.

UNITED STATES FREDERICK C. KUEPPERS, OF HAWTHORNE, NEW JERSEY.

GLARE SI-HELD.

Application filed January 27, 1928.

This invention relates to shields to be attached to electric light bulbs, as in automobile headlights. One object is to provide a shield of this class which can be manufactured by simple operations and at little cost and may be attached directly to the lamp in a way not to obstruct the useful light therefrom but to eliminate undesirable glare completely.

In the drawing,

Figs. 1 and 2 are side and front elevations, respectively, of a lamp and my glareshield in its preferred form, assembled;

Fig. 3 is a side elevation of one element of said glareshield;

Figs. 4 and 5 are side and rear elevations, respectively, of another element of sa d glareshield, shown partly broken away 1n Fig. 4;

Figs. 6 and 8 are side elevations of other forms of the glareshield, assembled with a lamp; D

Figs. 7 and 9 are plans of the blanks from which the glareshields shown in Figs. 6 and 8 are formed; and

Fig. 10is a rear elevation of a lamp and the glareshield shown in Fig. 8, assembled.

In all the forms the: device is characterized by including an end wall or shield formed of sheet material and supporting arms formed of sheet material and projecting from the shield lengthwise of and in different radii with respect to a common axis penetrating the plane of the shield and with edges thereof inward, said arms being adapted to be fitted over the bulb to thereby support said shield thereon.

Figs. 1 t0 5.In this form the device comprises a plurality of members. One such member is produced by drawing a sheet metal blank so as to provide an end wall 1 and a flange 2 projecting therefrom, wall 1 forming the mentioned end wall. Each of the two other members is produced by bending a progerly formed sheet metal blank so as to proc uce a part-cylindrical body portion or wall 3, an arm 4 bent inward from and centrally of one curved edge of the body part and two arms 5 which, bent outwardly so as to lie in planes substantially radial with respect to the axis of the body portion 3, reach appreciably beyond the latter lengthwise of said axis as at 5 and have their inner edges concave. The end Wall 1 of the first member has diametrically opposite ears 1? and each of the other two Serial No. 249,834.

members has in its portion or wall 3 a slot 3 to receive one such ear, so that the latter member, when fitted to the first member with its portion or wall 3 concentric to flange 2 thereof, is in effect fulcrumed thereon. A spring 6 extends through holes 3 in the portions or walls 3 and by means of heads 6" thereon tends to clamp said portions to flange 2 of the first member, as in Figs. 1 and 2. In this condition the portions 5 of the arms 5 may be made to grip a lamp bulb, as 7. The device may be attached to or removed from the bulb by spreading portions 5 upon pressing arms 4 together.

Figs. 6 and 7.Here the end wall and supporting arms are formed integral. A properly formed sheet metal blank, comprising a cisk portion slit radially at equally spaced points and curved extensions therefrom, is by bending as shown in full lines in a portion of Fig. 7 made to form an octagonal end wall. 8 and'a wall or flange 9 upstanding therefrom, with the curved arms or extensions 10 projecting generally lengthwise of the axis of end wall 8 and lying in planes radial with respect to said axis with edges thereof-their concave edges inward. In this form the device is fitted to or removed from the bulb 7 by spreading two of the adjoining arms 10 apart and moving the device sidewise.

Figs. 8 250 J0.Here, again, the end wall and supporting arms are integral. Given a sheet metal blank having an octagonal portion 12, short wings l3 projecting from alternate sides thereof and angular extensions 14 projecting tangentially from the remaining sides thereof, the wings and extensions are first bent up to form the wall or flange, then the extensions bent around (outside of) the wings, and finally the terminals let of the extensions are bent inwardly into radial relation to the axis of portion 12 to form the supporting arms with edges thereof, which are formed concave as shown. in-

ward. This form of the device may be fitted to or removed from the lamp 7 substantially in the same manner as that shown in Figs. 6 and 7.

In all the forms the device may be manufactured very inexpensively. It is readily applied to or removed from the lamp and it stops the glare of the latter straight ahead and more or less to right or left, its supporting arms on account of their described arrangement with the sheet material lll thereof extending in substantially radial planes being amply strong and not adapted to obstruct light Which on reflection when the device is used in an ordinary headlight is effective for proper illumination of the road ahead. While the flange is not an indispensable element in the broad aspect of the invention, 1t is very useful in extending themasking or shielding function of the extends across the wall and is bent off therefrom and also prO ects therefrom in thesame direction as said wall extends with respect to the shield and the mater1al of each arm is arranged to xteud in a plane substantially radial with respect to the longi- 7 tudinal axle of the bulb.

' Having thus fully described my invention, What I claim is: V

1. In a glareshield for an electric light bulb, the combination of a shield and bulbgripping members projecting from the shield in the same general direction and each fulcrumed between its ends thereon and springurg'ed toward and otherwise independent of each other. i

2. In a glareshield for an electric light bulb, the combination of a shield, bulb-gripping members projecting from the shield in thejsame general direction and tulcrumet thereon, and spring means engaging the arms near their fulcra andnrging them toward each other, said members having sheet metal arms forming their bulb-gripping portions arranged with the sheet material thereof extending radially.

3. A glareshield for an electric light bulb comprising, all -tori'ned' of sheet material, a shield to be penetrated by the longitudinal axis, and opposed to the free end, of the bulb, a wall extending generally lengthwise of and also around said axisand from the bulb side of the shield, and bulb-supporting arms having ifree ends, said-wall and the arms being formed from a single piece of sheet material and the latter extending across and bent off from the wall and also projecting therefrom in the same direction as said wall extends with respect to the shield and the material of the arms being arranger to extend 111 planes substantially radial with respect to said axis.

in testimony whereof I ailix my signature.

FREDERICK o. KUEPPERS. 

